The present invention relates to an operating arrangement in which a plurality of sensor surfaces upon the contacting of which an electric pulse is produced are arranged on a surface.
For the operating of, in particular, electronic instruments and control devices, there have proven suitable, inter alia, sensor keys which have no mechanically movable parts and therefore also no mechanical contacts. Aside from their great reliability and long life, these sensor keys have the advantage that they form a closed surface with the parts surrounding them, as a result of which dirtying of the inside of the apparatus provided with the sensor keys is avoided and the cleaning of the outside is facilitated. An arrangement of several such sensor keys can be formed, for instance, by a picture screen on which sensor surfaces are projected and which is connected to a control and evaluation circuit. However, sensor keys are also known in which the rear side of a foil is provided with electrodes and the front side bears corresponding legends.
For various uses, particularly in automotive vehicles, it has been found that, as a result of the smooth surface, accurate orientation of the operator is possible only by means of increased attentiveness. Upon casual reaching as is necessary, for instance, for the operating of an automobile radio during travel, erroneous operating maneuvers are not out of the question.